The Wild One
by Mrstrentreznor
Summary: AU world. Cullen free. Jake worries about his best friend. She's dating Paul and Jake knows Paul is not good for her.


EnjoyYourJacob challenged me. She is one of the alphas (admins) at JBNP. She's on fanfic too. Check her out: www(dot)/u/1995848/EnjoyyourJacob

Hostage of love is awesome and has less reviews than it deserves. And she's German! She's not even writing in her first language. I am so impressed by people who can do that.

This is what she wanted:

**My challenge? Jake stealing Bella away from Paul. Now, that! would be something I'd love to read. YEAH.**

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**AN: I wailed, I pleaded, and I told her I couldn't do it. In the end I promised to try. Paul is my muse. It explains everything really. And I cannot tell you how angry he is with me, right now.**

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**The wild one**

Disclaimer: _the characters and all recognisable situations belong to Stephenie Meyer - this is a work of fan fiction, except for the legends and histories of the Quileute that, of course, belong to them. I pay my respects to their gods._

"Jesus! That guy is such a douche bag!" Embry spat.

"Hmmm?" asked Jake. "Which guy?" He looked up to _see_ the answer to that question.

Paul Lahote.

Paul Lahote with his tongue halfway down a girl's throat. Standard behaviour for the rez's answer to Colin Farrell. Jake was fairly sure Paul had probably starred in a sex tape too; just like Colin Farrell. But the reason Embry was so angry with him was because Paul Lahote was supposed to be dating Bella Swan.

And Bella Swan was Jake's best friend.

"What can you do?" asked Quil, with a worried expression.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" queried Quil.

"If I try to tell her about the other women, she doesn't believe me. She thinks I make it up. For some stupid reason that doesn't even make sense."

"Really? Is she deaf as well as blind?" Embry wondered.

"What the fuck, Embry?"

"Well … she must hear stuff… Right?" Embry defended.

"She lives in Forks. Rez gossip travels fast, but it doesn't travel _far_," Jake pointed out.

"Yeah I suppose," Quil agreed.

"And if I keep telling her about it; I'll lose her as a friend," Jake grumbled. "She's made that very clear."

"Man," said Quil. "You are so fucked."

"Or not," Jake added bitterly. Because that was what he really wanted. He wanted to date Bella Swan. He wanted her to love him, unconditionally. He wanted her to be his girlfriend, not his best friend.

"Pity someone doesn't take a photo and message it to her," Embry pointed out.

"I suspect Paul might chase you down, break your phone and beat the living shit out of you," Jake pointed out. Because, not only was Paul Lahote a player, but he was also a bully.

"I mean, what is it with good girls and bad guys?" asked Embry. He almost did jazz hands.

The others looked at him quizzically.

"Oh come on, guys… in how many movies is that the entire story line? West side Story? The Wild One? Rebel without a Cause?"

"The Breakfast Club," added Quil.

"Grease," Jake added almost despite himself.

"But those are all based on far _older_ stories… like Shakespeare. Romeo was a player until he met Juliet," Embry said.

"Bad boys are a mystery to be solved; somewhere beneath that stoic, silent exterior there beats a heart that will love her sooo much more than any other guy. They invite redemption," Quil breathed.

"Okay, seriously Quil. You are weirding me out," Jake said.

"He's been reading his mum's romance novels," Embry explained.

"Really?" Jake was astonished.

"Yeah. Gone are the days when she clutched the bed comforter or something. These days it is full on sex," Quil breathed. "With details!" Being a normal teenage boy; sex was heavy on his mind.

"Does she ever notice they always open at the same page, Quil?" asked Embry. Quil didn't reply but just tackled him, put him in a headlock and noogied him.

Jake laughed and almost forgot about Paul Lahote.

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Bella brought him some trashed motorcycles to repair. Paul was good with his hands, but not in the mechanical sense. Being her ever faithful friend, he said he'd rebuild them for her. She even offered to help him. Not that she could really help. Her idea of 'helping' was sitting in his garage being a complete distraction. They even drove to the scrap yard together to buy parts. He chose the parts and she paid for them. And he loved every second of it.

In payment, she told him he could keep the black one; the Harley sprint. Jake had a sudden vision of himself as Marlon Brando's character, Johnny Strabler from the Wild One. And in love with the sheriff's daughter. Ironic, huh? Except, of course, the bike wasn't a Triumph. But a Harley was good enough.

He loved spending time with her. He wasn't game to ask her where Paul was or what he was doing, letting his girlfriend hang with him. He wasn't usually very high on Paul's list of people he was okay letting Bella spend time with. Especially alone.

But one day, he just had to know. So he asked her. "What's up with Paul?" he asked quietly.

She wrung her hands; one of her adorable habits. "He's away… or something. Sam told me he's okay. But I just can't see him right now."

Jake frowned. "Sam… Sam Uley?"

She just nodded and bit her lip. She blinked rapidly as if she was going to cry. Jake slung an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in against him. He didn't want her to be sad. He felt an uncharacteristic anger against Paul. He made her sad. Jake didn't like that.

But Jake's little heaven didn't last long. Paul was back. And weirdly, he was bigger and angrier. As if he wasn't angry enough before? Jake started to worry that Paul might hurt Bella. Jake was big these days, 6 foot 5 he had told her proudly when she commented one day. But Paul was really built. He was almost Jake's height but he had quite a few pounds on him now.

And he scared Jake. Weirder still, Sam and Jared Cameron looked exactly the same. Sam was **even** bigger.

Something freaky was going on and no one was talking. And they watched him all the time. It was seriously weirding him out.

And worse… Paul and Bella were **still** together.

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Embry was changing. It worried Jake. He was getting angry about the stupidest things. He and Quil nearly came to blows over the Iron Chef of all things. And with Embry? Embry was the calming influence in the trio. The thoughtful one.

And then Embry disappeared. Just like Paul had done and Sam before him. Jake didn't know Jared that well; but he'd be prepared to bet that Jared disappeared for some weeks as well.

Embry's mother was borderline hysterical. She was around at the Black house screaming at Billy about what was happening to the youth of today. Jake knew his father very well and he knew he was hiding something. He asked him later after Tiffany Call had gone home; unhappy and unanswered. Billy denied everything and said something vague and annoying like 'if he needed to know he'd be told' or something ominous like that. It made Jake angry. This was one of his best friends. He went outside and punched a tree.

And that was weird too. He'd **never** done that before.

When he had calmed himself down, he went back inside the house again. Billy had a phone message for him from Bella. Ages ago they had made a best friend promise to remember Valentine's Day and she had forgotten. He had sent her a box of candy hearts anonymously, but she somehow knew it was him. She asked him to go to the movies with her and a bunch of her high school friends. Paul hated them and had blackened the eye of Mike Newton. Given she needed her job at Newton's for spending money, she didn't need Paul to punch him out again. And she wanted Jake to come instead. Mike Newton just never seemed to get the message, even with Paul in his face or even on it.

His heart swelled in his chest. She wanted _him_.

Not exactly the way he would have preferred but she wanted _him_. He said the car he was restoring was finished and he wanted to pick her up too. He was so proud of the rebuilt Rabbit. She made some comment that it was almost a real date and his heart warmed again.

She seemed to know that he was proud of the car and she gushed and said all the right things about it, even though she knew nothing about cars. Jake felt so happy. And then Mike showed up in the car his parents had bought for him; a Suburban and Jake almost growled at him. Like, literally growled. He frightened himself.

Nobody else came. The bitches at school had been giving Bella shit and the second they found out _she_ had organised the movie night, they didn't attend on principle. And the others all had the stomach flu.

The movie was awful. Bad special effects and laughable, lame acting. But he was sitting next to _**her**_. And he was so intimately aware of her; huddled down in her seat and trying not to let any part of her body brush either of them.

Mike ran out to vomit and Jake laughed fit to burst. At least until he realised he was genuinely sick, not just freaked out by the movie.

He and Bella sat in the foyer and talked. He tried to put his arm around her and she shrugged away from him.

"What the…?" he asked. He always hugged her; when had that changed?

She blushed. "It's Paul. He doesn't like other guys touching me."

"What? So I can't put my arm around you anymore?" He sounded so whiny; even to himself. That explained why she had sat so primly in her seat; between him and Mike. Touching neither.

"How could he ever know? Unless you tell him," he joked.

"He just… knows."

"What's going on, Bells?"

"He knew you sent the candy hearts." She looked frightened. "He sniffed at the box, Jake, and he knew you'd sent it. And he's so hot now. I mean he was always hot, but now he's hot." She laughed a little hysterically at her own joke.

Jake's happiness evaporated. This shit had to stop. Bella was frightened of her boyfriend. "H-has he … e-ever hurt you?" He was terrified of her answer.

"Oh no," she blustered nervously and she clutched his arm to comfort him. The look on her face when she comprehended what she had done, nearly broke his heart.

"Bella?" he chided. He didn't believe her.

"H-he's never hurt me. Well not _deliberately_. But he is just so… angry." She almost whispered the last word.

"He hurt you?" Jake was proud of himself; his voice sounded almost normal.

She flapped her hands. "Well… he's so strong now. Sometimes he just grabs me a little hard." She unconsciously put her hand over her arm.

Jake didn't need to see it to know that she would have a bruise around her upper arm. A large hand shaped bruise.

He blinked slowly. "This has to stop, Bella."

She glanced at his eyes. She gave a nervous shrug. "It's Paul… he's kind of hard to deny."

There was no point telling her the guy was a douche bag; she already knew that. Christ the whole town had told her that. She was just trapped.

"I'll be there for you," he stated implacably.

"Oh no, Jake. I wouldn't want you to get hurt," she blustered.

"I'll. Be. There. For. You," he repeated.

He stood; his decision made. "Let's get Mike Spewton home." He walked to the candy counter to ask for the largest popcorn container they had. One look at Mike's face and the girl gave it to him for free, with a whispered plea to get him out of there as soon as possible because she had to mop the foyer.

Jake just nodded. He felt kind of odd and kind of awesome at the same time. When he made his statement to Bella that he would protect her, something within him had shifted. He was a protector. He was Bella Swan's protector. It was like a crown or a cape that just settled around his shoulders. He felt taller; wider and stronger.

He felt invincible.

They did a bit of car swapping; driving Mike's car back to his place.

He said goodbye to Bella and he hugged her. She made a strangled noise when he did it. He kissed her forehead.

"I'll. Be. Here. For. You," he stated. "Go to bed."

He drove home, getting angrier by the second.

He walked in the door of his house and Billy said something to him and he exploded. Literally. His human self blew apart and now he was a wolf. Freaky weird shit.

_Jake? Don't panic. _ The voice was in his head.

_Sam? Sam Uley?_ Well it kind of gave a sense of being Sam. He couldn't really say that it sounded like him; nothing to hear.

_Yeah. This is our blood heritage._

Silence.

_Jake?_

_I'm here. Just thinking. _

_You sound… okay._ Sam sounded surprised.

_I'm just putting some stuff together. It all makes sense now. Embry?_

_He's one of us._

_I understand._

_Can you come to the clearing and meet the rest of the pack?_

_Yes. I'd like that._

Jake ran easily on his new feet to the clearing Sam had … well, he hadn't described it. He just kind of thought of it and the location appeared in Jake's head.

He saw a massive black wolf waiting for him. He somehow knew that was Sam. A greyer animal with back markings twitched nervously next to him. Embry. Another wolf ran in, with brown fur; looking oddly thick. Jared.

Jake was waiting. When a silvery grey wolf ran in, Jake just attacked him. It had to be Paul. He didn't wait for an introduction.

Sam did nothing. It was as if his wolf knew this battle for dominance had to occur. Jake picked up some helpful thoughts from Embry. Paul was the beta; the second in command. If Jake beat him he understood that he could order him around. And Paul would have to obey him. Orders applied in their human form too, Embry helpfully supplied that thought as well.

Sam thought of Bella and a sense of understanding passed through his mind. If this was about a woman, then it was one fight he would not be stepping into.

They fought, snarled, scratched, bit and tore at each other. They rolled out of the clearing and into the trees. Smashing logs and breaking off branches as their massive bodies thundered and crashed into each other. Paul was experienced but Jake was angry. So very angry. And the more he fought, the bigger he became; as if he was literally stretching his new body to fit.

He took a big chunk out of Paul's side and the silvery wolf whimpered. Jake bit at his ears; tearing pieces out of them. He knew somehow that biting the ears was a punishment from a more dominant wolf.

Paul tore his own ear from Jake's jaws, leaving a piece of it behind and he twisted his body in the air, pulling his head out of reach. Jake went for the legs.

_**STOP!**_

It was an order. Jake froze with Paul's back leg held tightly in his jaws.

_Yield Paul. _

_Fuck him._

_He'll break your leg._

Silence.

_Paul?_

_Fuck shit fuck._ A pause._ Fine._

_Jake?_

_Bella's mine. _He still held Paul's leg clamped in his jaws.

_What the fuck? Is this about Swan?_

_You will leave her alone. You will not touch her. EVER again._

_Fuck off Black._

_Paul. Grow a brain. _Sam sounded weary. Paul probably made his job harder than it needed to be.

_He's the true alpha Paul. He'll kill you if I let him do it._

_Fuck! Christ almighty. Okay. She's not worth dying for._

Jake bit his leg anyway. It was the principle of the thing.

Paul phased back with the pain. When Paul had finished cussing him out in human form, Jake made him phone her and break up with her. Then the others took him to the medical centre.

Embry could not help giving off a wave of smug satisfaction before he phased human to help Jared carry Paul.

Sam studied his new beta with a wary eye. He had a feeling his job would be even more temporary than he had been led to believe. Jake was too good at this. He wouldn't even need babysitting.

Jake stood naked and unrepentant in front of him. "He deserved it."

"Yes."

"I'm going to her house now." He didn't ask permission.

"I'll let your father know where you are."

"Oh." For a second he looked like the sixteen year old boy he was. "Thanks, Sam."

Sam just nodded. He passed him some cut-offs and showed him how to tie them to his leg. He couldn't let him go to the Sherriff's house naked. "Go."

He went.

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Jake knocked on their door.

"Jeez Jake." Charlie ran his hands through his hair in a gesture of frustration. "I don't think she's up for visitors. She's got that stomach flu that's doing the rounds. And her guy picked the worst night to dump her. She's a mess."

"I'll look after her, sir."

Charlie eyed him. He looked bigger. And supremely confident. Charlie had the feeling that if anyone could look after his daughter properly, it would be this young man. He had always had that feeling; even though Jake was two years younger than her. He nodded once. "If you want to risk it."

"I don't get sick." And somehow he knew that he didn't; at least, not anymore.

Bella had vomited so much that her stomach was doing the dry heaves; flipping itself over with nothing inside it to throw up. Her stomach ached, her throat was sore and her eyes were streaming. Some strong russet arms picked her up off the bathroom floor and wrapped around her.

"J-Jake…" she whimpered.

"Bells." He dampened a cloth and cleaned her face. He rinsed it out again and held it to the back of her neck. He arranged her on his lap; cuddling her in against his naked chest.

"Don't," she begged. "I've got vomit in my hair."

"I said I'd be here for you," he stated.

And she knew he was.

And he wasn't going anywhere.

FF_2154210_ - 11/11/2011 05:39:00 PM


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